Compensation for Train Noise in Chingford.

Jennette Arnold: Your previous response to question 2019/20776 was unsatisfactory. Once again I ask you to please explain what compensation TfL will be offering to residents of Springfield Road as a result of the continuous overnight noise from TfL trains that they have been forced to endure.

The Mayor: I recognise the impact that noise can have on local residents and I have been challenging Transport for London (TfL) and its suppliers to do all they can to deliver on their commitments.
TfL has been focusing its efforts on resolving the issue of noise through delivering its new electric 710 trains as soon as possible, not through compensation. We are continuing to engage with the local residents’ group, and have been working on a number of improvements to mitigate disturbance, including on lighting and track.
I can now confirm that the new state-of-the-art London Overground trains have started to be rolled out on the Liverpool Street service, and the older trains causing the noise have started to be phased out. The new trains will be introduced on a phased basis to ensure there is a smooth transition for customers and that they are operating reliably. It is expected all the new trains will be in service by the end of June.

Basic Command Unit (BCU) Resources

Susan Hall: Can you provide details of how the BCU policing model allocates resources between boroughs?

The Mayor: Please refer to my answer for Mayor's Question 2020/0837.

Platform 13 Use at Stratford Station

Unmesh Desai: During the peak times Platform 13 at Stratford Station is not in use. Please explain why this is the case and what work is being considered in order to fully utilise this platform when the station is busiest.

The Mayor: There are a number of operational reasons why, during normal peak operation, only two of the platforms are used for the Jubilee line at Stratford Tube station.
Since a new timetable was introduced in May 2018 to fulfil the Jubilee line’s capacity needs, TfL has run a frequent service out of platforms 14 and 15. Using these two platforms is the optimal way to ensure that passengers are able to move in or out of the station to and from each platform. The current platform use makes it easier and safer for customers to change, rather than having to run to platform 13 to catch their service. This arrangement is also needed to ensure drivers can change trains safely and quickly, which would be more difficult to do if they had to get to platform 13.
Platform 13 is therefore not a safer or more practical option than the current arrangement. However, even if platform 13 was in use, this would not able Transport for London (TfL) to run more trains on the Jubilee line.

Safeguarding Wharves

Caroline Pidgeon: Please set out the evidence in relation to each of the eight wharves that have seen their safeguarding directions removed in Mayoral Decision 2569 and set out how this decision fully complies with Policy S1 15 of the draft London and 7.26 of the current London Plan, which requires safeguarded wharves to be used for the purposes of waterborne freight handling, with any redevelopment for other land only being acceptable when the wharf is no long viable or capable of being made viable for waterborne freight handling.

The Mayor: The recommendations of the Safeguarded Wharves Review are the result of a robust and lengthy review process, which included multiple independent assessments and public consultation.
In the north east sub-region four wharves are recommended for release due to unfavourable berthing, access, and/or navigational conditions, combined with a surplus of capacity in this area. A further three wharves are recommended for release due to the impact of the Silvertown Tunnel Project, and to take advantage of the opportunity to consolidate wharf capacity; this will enable existing operators to derive benefits from co-location and better utilise the river for freight. In addition, two new wharves are recommended for safeguarding. These changes would still leave 2.4 million tonnes of spare capacity by 2041 to meet the changing needs of water-borne freight in London’s north-east.
One vacant wharf in the south-east sub region is recommended for release due to unfavourable berthing conditions.
Full evidence is set out in the Individual Site Assessments at Appendix B of MD 2569.
Through the policies in my London Plan I continue to provide strong protection for safeguarded wharves against inappropriate development, requiring all applications to robustly demonstrate how a wharf is no longer viable in accordance with all requirements in paragraph 9.15.8.

Car ownership in new developments

Leonie Cooper: Centre for London has recently argued that new developments are locking residents into car ownership via car-centric design. How are you combatting this?

The Mayor: Centre for London’s report raises a number of important issues, though the data it uses on new development is based on homes built between 2004 and 2009, surveyed in 2011 on behalf of TfL. The policies in my new London Plan, including concentrating new development in well-connected areas and applying maximum car parking standards (as noted in the report), will significantly reduce car dependency in new homes. Car-free development – with the exception of disabled persons parking – will be required across much of inner London and well-connected parts of outer London, with clear maximum limits elsewhere.
New developments will be expected to be designed around people walking, cycling and using public transport, provide sufficient quantities of good-quality cycle parking and make financial contributions to improvements to sustainable travel infrastructure in the local area as appropriate. This is in line with the ambitious mode shift aim in my Transport Strategy.

Planning White Paper

Nicky Gavron: Have you had any discussions with or input to Government related to the Planning White Paper which is due to be published before the March Budget?

The Mayor: The GLA has not had discussions with Government specifically on the forthcoming Planning White Paper, but Planning Officers have regular discussions with MHCLG on relevant matters, and are due to meet MHCLG officials in April to discuss the Government’s proposals for permitted development, which is likely to be a key focus of the paper.

Viability Assessments consultation

Nicky Gavron: Will you share with the Assembly any response from the GLA to the RICS consultation draft “Assessing financial viability in planning under the National Planning Policy Framework for England, 1st edition”? How do you foresee the proposals impacting on planning in London?

The Mayor: A response to the draft RICS consultation guidance has been submitted by the Deputy Mayor for Planning, Regeneration and Skills on my behalf and I’m happy for it to be shared with the London Assembly. The draft guidance has been informed by members of my Viability Team who have sat on its working group alongside other external organisations. I support the intention to replace the previous RICS guidance on viability from 2012, and in particular, to change its approach to determining ‘benchmark land value’ which had contributed to a reduction in affordable housing in London. This should have a beneficial impact on planning in London by striking a better balance between the need for the delivery of sustainable development, affordable housing and infrastructure, and landowner and developer returns. The consultation response identifies a number of areas where further changes are sought to provide greater clarity and improve the process for viability testing.

Developable land

Nicky Gavron: What is the total amount of land included in Opportunity Areas, Housing Zones and previously identified brownfield sites in London (excluding overlapping areas), that is not in the Green Belt or Metropolitan Open Land, also broken down by borough where possible?

The Mayor: The total amount of land within either an Opportunity Area, Housing Zone or in previously identified brownfield sites (sites on planning authorities’ brownfield registers) is 15,594 hectares. A breakdown by borough is included in the spreadsheet ‘MQ 2020 0590 Developable land.xlsx’. Only Opportunity Areas with formally adopted boundaries are included in the calculation.

Low Emission Zone (1)

Leonie Cooper: Are you on track for the strengthening of the Low Emission Zone standards in October 2019?

The Mayor: Yes. The project to tighten the standards of the existing Low Emission Zone (LEZ) to be equal to those of the Ultra Low Emission Zone (ULEZ) is progressing well and is on target to meet the launch date I announced of 26 October 2020.
Drivers can check whether their vehicle meets the required standards on the Transport for London website:
www.tfl.gov.uk/modes/driving/check-your-vehicle-35896
In order to provide support to businesses preparing for the tightened standards, I recently announced a widening of the £23m Van Scrappage scheme eligibility criteria to include small businesses (those with 50 or fewer employees). In addition, I am also doubling scrappage payments to £7,000, which increases to £9,500 for those switching to electric vans.
Further information about the van scrappage scheme can be found here:
https://tfl.gov.uk/modes/driving/ultra-low-emission-zone/scrappage-scheme
Alongside helping van owners, I am taking action later this year to help clean up the heavy vehicle fleet by widening the Van Scrappage scheme to small businesses operating heavy vehicles. Details are to be finalised, but it is expected that it will be in the form of a grant of around £15,000 to either scrap or retrofit each polluting heavy vehicle, up to a maximum of three vehicles.
If you are a small business, with 50 or fewer employees, I would encourage you to pre-register your interest in the scheme by emailing your vehicle type to [emailprotected]. This will help us better understand the number of potential applications we can expect when the scheme is expanded.

Current land use

Nicky Gavron: Does the GLA hold any data on, or have an estimate for, the amount of land in London currently taken up by a) retail parks and/or b) surface level car parks?

The Mayor: The information below is from UKmap Edition 23 (Oct 2019 version)
The total areas of buildings in retail distribution places in London is 2,375.76 ha.
The total areas of hard standing1 in retail distribution places London is 1,779.18 ha. This figure covers retail car parking space but also other man-made surfaces. The exact area of car parking space alone cannot be extracted from the data held by the GLA.
1 Hard standing: All areas that are not part of the transport network but which form areas of man-made surface, usually impervious, such as tarmac or concrete. These will include small areas of pavement leading to non-residential buildings, private car parking, public car parks and various man-made surfaces such as loading areas etc.
The car park areas provided below only include non-retail car parking space across London.
Total areas of multi storey car parking = 32.17ha
Total areas of street level car park =264.79 ha

Cash In lieu affordable housing contributions

Nicky Gavron: Does the GLA collect data on cases where applicants make “cash in lieu” contributions to affordable housing, instead of or in addition to on-site provision? If so, can you provide a breakdown of contributions made and the number of cases by borough in each of the past three years. If not, is this something you will be measuring as part of the updated London Development Database?

The Mayor: Cash in lieu of affordable housing is recorded on the London Development Database. The number of cases and the amount, as provided by London’s planning authorities, is shown in the spreadsheet ‘MQ 2020 0593 Cash in lieu on planning approvals.xlsx’. The data covers the period from 1st April 2016 to 31st March 2019.
Cash in lieu of affordable housing will continue to be measured as part of the updated London Development Database.

Resource Allocation Formula (3)

Susan Hall: What weight, if any, does the religious/racial diversity of a borough have in relation to the police Resource Allocation Formula?

The Mayor: Please refer to my answer for Mayor's Question 2020/0837.

Resource Allocation Formula (2)

Susan Hall: What weight, if any, do population and population growth have in relation to the police Resource Allocation Formula?

The Mayor: Please refer to my answer for Mayor's Question 2020/0837.

Recent Residential Density

Nicky Gavron: Could you provide the density of completed residential buildings in London by borough in the past three years expressed in each of the following measures where possible: bedspaces per hectare; bedrooms per hectare; units per hectare.

The Mayor: Data on the density of completed residential planning permissions by units and bedrooms per hectare is included in the spreadsheet ‘MQ 2020 0591 Residential density’. The data is extracted from the London Development Database which records residential units and bedrooms, but not bed spaces so it has not been possible to calculate this measure.